Letter in response to Google DeepMind and healthcare in an age of algorithms

Excerpt

Clinical treatment has always been based on the intelligent use and analysis of patient data, but many of the technologies that help us make sense of complex data every day - from smartphones to machine learning tools - are yet to find widespread use in health systems like the English NHS. Important questions remain about the right way to deploy data-driven innovations to improve patient care, whilst maintaining public trust in the use and security of their sensitive health information. The article ‘Google DeepMind and healthcare in an age of algorithms’ (doi:10.1007/s12553-017-0179-1) discussed a now-superseded 2015 agreement between the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) and DeepMind Health (DMH), using it to draw conclusions about these wider issues and criticising both parties in strong terms throughout. At the time of publication, both RFL and DMH expressed concern that this article contained factual errors, which risked causing confusion both about the substance of the 2015 agreement and, by extension, the broader issues raised. …